Box Score
The loss was
just the third in the past 13 games for the Rams.
Aaron Jackson added 17 points for the Dukes who shot .528.
Jimmy Baron hit a tournament record-tying eight 3-pointers
in scoring a game-high 26 points for Rhode Island.
There were 13 ties and seven lead changes before Bill Clark
drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Dukes a 72-69 lead with
3:31 left. Jackson broke Norm Nixon’s school record with
his 179th assist of the season on the play.
Duquesne
upped its lead to five on a pair of Aaron Jackson free
throws with 2:18 on the clock before Baron cut it to two
with a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left. Jason Duty hit a
pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining to seal the
victory.
Duquesne briefly led by seven early in the second
half, while Rhode Island’s largest lead was two on a
number of occasions.
DU outscored URI 32-30 in the
paint despite being outrebounded 43-29. The Dukes went
10-of-24 from the 3-point arc with five different players
converting at least once.
Rhode Island finished 8-of-23
from the arc with Baron accounting for all eight field
goals.
NOTES
- The victory clinched DU’s first 20-win season
since 1981 (20-10) and second since 1972 (20-5)
- It marked the first time Duquesne won two A-10 Championship
games since 1985 when the No. 8 Dukes defeated
No. 9 Penn State and No. 1 West Virginia before
losing to No. 4 Rutgers in the semifinal at Piscataway,
N.J.
- This was Duquesne’s first win over Rhode Island
under Ron Everhart, leaving Richmond is the only
A-10 team DU has yet to defeat since Everhart took
over at Duquesne prior to the 2006-07 season
Posted on DuquesneSports.net, 4/2/09